1950 – 1959

The baby boom was underway and the company was experiencing a boom of its own. By 1950, we had more than 400 staff members and offices across Alberta, including Edmonton, Camrose, Wetaskiwin, Calgary and Lethbridge.

In 1950, 6,000 new customers were added to the system and 24 additional towns and villages received power from the company.

The decade also saw remote control arrive at our hydro plants. In 1951, the Seebe Control Centre was built to centrally manage many of our dams. Three years later a northern control centre was built near Edmonton.

By the late 1950s, there were few remaining hydro sites for development in Alberta but demand for power continued to grow. The company’s first thermal generating plant, at Wabamun, west of Edmonton, Alberta, began operation in 1956. The site was adjacent to coal reserves in excess of 50 million tons.

By 1958, we had expanded to almost every corner of the province and served even remote rural areas.